One Moment, One Life
by Ray-Tiger-Cat
Summary: [Oneshot] [Warning: character death, some violence] When a shooting happens at school, a normal day for the G Revs turns into a matter of life or death. It's amazing what can be changed in one little moment. It's amazing what can be lost.


RTC: Hi everyone. Before I let you read this oneshot, I must warn you. This is possibly the most serious thing I've ever written and it's rather sad. Please go and get some tissues if you're the type to cry at sad stuff, okay? I'll give a longer explanation of where this fic came from at the end. Please read that and think about what you're reading, alright? This is SERIOUS! 

Hilary: Ray-Tiger-Cat doesn't own Beyblade or us, the characters, she just owns the insanity in her head that makes her write all this.

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It had started like any other day. The G Revolutions were at school, just like any other day. All was normal.

"So, who has the answer to question four b?" the teacher enquired, glancing around the room. Only one hand was raised in the air. "Anyone other than Hilary?" The teacher sighed deeply. She'd known Hilary since she had started high school, and apparently, she hadn't changed since, even though is was now her senior year. "Alright, go ahead Hilary."

"The answer is 7.8 Newtons down," Hilary replied and launched into a complicated solution.

"That's right. Now the rest of you, you are in final year physics class! Can we all try a bit harder? Please review the homework with the person sitting next to you."

"Teacher's pet," someone whispered and Hilary bowed her head in shame.

"Don't listen to them. They're just jealous," Kai whispered, resisting the urge to pat her shoulder, as he was sitting right next to the brunette.

"Thanks Kai... Did you get the homework?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Hn." He pushed his binder closer to hers and Hilary could see that he had solved all the problems perfectly.

"Why didn't you answer when Ms. D. asked then? You've got them all right!" Kai gave her a look and she opened her mouth to answer.

However, Hilary was cut off by the P.A. system coming on with a message that would change their lives forever. "Attention all staff and students." The principal's voice sounded strained and worried as opposed to its usual monotone. "The school is going into a lockdown immediately. This is not a drill. There is a threat on the first floor. Everyone is to follow lockdown procedures. The police have been called and another announcement will be made as soon as the suspects are apprehended."

Kai watched as Hilary's eyes widened to the size of dinner plate and others struggled to control their fear. At least the teacher was calm; she was locking the door and turning out the lights. Quietly, she herded all of the students to safety behind the lab benches. As they stood up, Hilary grabbed Kai's hand. "How can so be so calm?" she half whispered, half shouted. "We're on the first floor! They could be right outside the door!"

"Shh, Hil. It'll be okay," he soothed.

Fortunately, the class was rather small; not many people wanted to deal with the stress of final year physics, so they all fit behind the benches easily.

They sat and waited. A minute felt like an eternity, especially when they heard footsteps thumping up and down the hall. And what sound like gun shots.

Kai's breathing hitched. How he hated that sound. After living in the abbey and later leading a gang, the sound brought back far too many bad memories.

Hilary, too, was shaken. She clutched Kai's hand tightly and bit her lip to keep from crying. "Kai?" she mouthed after what seemed like another eternity.

"Yes?"

"Do you think Cameron is okay? He's only a freshman. He was terrified to start high school. I promised that everything would be okay and we're barely two months into the school year and look what's happening!" she squeaked, incredibly quickly. "And what about the others?"

Kai smiled, despite their situation. Cameron was Hilary's little brother and she was quite protective of him. "They'll be okay. All of them."

Just then, they heard the lock on the door being picked. 'This is the end,' rang through everyone's heads.

'Where, oh where are those damn police?!' Hilary's mind raced. 'Maybe they won't know we're here!'

Unfortunately, Hilary's prayers went unanswered and the gunmen came around and found the twenty-one students and their teacher huddled on the floor.

Kai looked up to meet their gaze. Eyes locked and Kai realized these weren't any thugs; they were students at the school, before they'd been expelled for drug use, amongst other thing.

A couple of gunshots rang out and the class screamed and tried to avoid the attacks, not that there was anywhere to run. Kai shut his eyes and didn't dare open them-once again, the gunshots were opening past wounds. He heard a loud scream from Hilary and the gunmen running away, so he opened his eyes.

The sight that he was met with was definitely one that no one should ever have to witness. Blood was everywhere and several people were holding wounds. But what hurt him most was Hilary. The girl had sustained a shot to the stomach and blood was gushing out.

"Kai!" she called weakly.

Kai blanked for a second before his sense returned, screaming all the first-aid he'd been forced to learn as team captain.

Quickly yanking his scarf from around his neck, he wrapped it around Hilary's wound and pulled as hard as he could.

"Hold on, Hil, help will be here soon," he tried to reassure her as best he could. But even as he said it, he felt her grip loosen. "NO! Don't die on me! Please!"

Outside, in the hall, Kai could hear shouts of, "Police! Put your weapons down, or we'll shoot!" and the mad scrambling of paramedics.

"Kai, promise me you'll calm Cameron down. Watch over him for me," Hilary whispered, each word more faint than the last.

The paramedics rushed in and started loading her, and the other injured students, onto stretchers.

"Tell him I'm sorry for breaking my promise, Kai."

The paramedics ran out of the room, pushing her stretcher, leaving Kai behind.

"NO!" Kai felt terrified for the first time in a very long while. He made to go after Hilary and the paramedics, but a hand clamped on his shoulder. "What?!" he snapped, turning around to face his teacher.

"You can't leave. The school needs to take attendance and call your parents." She paused.

"But I'll try to speed things up, okay?" He wanted to shout that is was not okay, that she didn't understand, but the tear marks on her cheeks stopped him.

"Kai!" a little voice came from across the overcrowded schoolyard. Kai scanned the crowd, looking for whomever had called to him. His eyes finally met a pair of green eyes; green eyes belonging to Hilary's brother, Cameron.

'She was right-he is terrified,' Kai concluded. 'And I doubt he even knows what happened to Hilary yet. How the hell do I tell him?' Panic welled inside Kai's head.

"Hiwatari, Kai!" the teacher was calling, taking attendance.

"Here!" Kai responded. "Can I go now?!"

"Yes, but if you want to call home, you're going to have to wait a while. You're still not allowed to be using your cells."

"I'm leaving," Kai announced, feeling strange at having to actually announce his departure.

Kai scrambled across the schoolyard and tapped Cameron on the shoulder.

"Where's Hilary?!" he asked, alarmed.

Kai decide not to beat around the bush. "She was shot. They've taken her to the hospital.  
Tears well up in Cameron's eyes, but he kept them from falling somehow. "Will she be okay?"

"I honestly don't know," Kai murmured. "If you want, you can come with me to the hospital-I'm heading over there now." Quickly getting permission from his teacher, Cameron and Kai headed for the hospital in Kai's car. On the way, Cameron called his parents, only to get no answer. They took it as a sign that they had already been called.  
In true Kai-fashion, and complete disregard for road safety rules, Kai was tearing through the streets, calling Ray on his cell with one hand.

"Kai! Thank God! You're the last person to call me, except for Hilary. Have you head from her? Wait, don't you have the same class this period?" Ray said at top speed, clearly worried.

"So the others are alright?" Kai asked, ignoring the questions he didn't want to answer.

"Yes. Tyson is trying to calm Kenny down as we speak and Max is on the phone with his mom. Where's Hilary?"

"Meet us at the hospital, Ray. And hurry."

"Oh, no, she can't have... Not Hilary... Please tell me you're joking because-" Kai hung up on him. 'It would not do to panic,' Kai told himself, but already he was freaking out. What else could be expected? One of his closest friends was shot!

Ignoring the phone ringing as Ray tried to get through, Kai led Cameron through to the emergency room. The boy had finally succumbed to tears and Kai was faring only slightly better.

"Mom! Dad!" Cameron screeched and ran over to his parents. Mrs. Tatibana was red-eyed and her husband looked ghostly pale. Both had several wadded up Kleenexes a piece on their laps.

"Oh Cameron!" his mother sobbed, pulling him closer for a hug.

Kai suddenly felt very awkward intruding on what should have been a private family moment. And what would Hilary's parents think of him when they found out he had been there to witness their daughter's shooting and hadn't tried to intervene. Kai stood off to one side, as though hoping he had become invisible.

But of course he hadn't. Mr. Tatibana made to come closer and talk to him, but, fortunately for Kai, was interrupted by a doctor.

Kai would have been relieved, but the grim look on the doctor's face told him that he shouldn't be.

"Mr. and Mrs. Tatibana, we're so sorry. We did everything we could, but she died in surgery."

It was then that the world came crashing down for all of them. All three Tatibanas clung together and broke down, leaving Kai feeling even worse.

'I'm such a bad friend, Hilary,' Kai thought. 'I didn't deserve to have you as a friend. I couldn't be there when you needed me most and I can't do anything to comfort your family.' And suddenly, Kai found he could no longer stand there, watching, and he bolted for the door.

"We are gathered here today to lay to rest Hilary Tatibana. She was a brilliant young woman; lot's of potential, but her life was tragically cut short..." the speaker at the funeral, several days later, was saying.

'She did have potential. She coached us, a world class blading team. She got perfect grades. She was making big plans to get a scholarship and go to university. She was a great friend. It isn't fair!' Kai thought, half angry, half depressed. 'Why her? Of all the students in the school, why did she have to die? ... Well, her and eight others, but still! Why couldn't it have been me?!'

The final count for the gunmen's victims were nine dead and fourteen seriously injured. And a whole school forever shaken and changed. It was a massacre.

"...She was a great friend and a demanding coach. But that's why we loved her." Kai looked up and saw that Tyson was at the mike. "She will be missed by all of us."

"Next up is Kai Hiwatari."

With each foot feeling like it was made of lead, Kai walked up to the podium.

"Just last week, we lost our dear friend Hilary. She was a good person; never did anything illegal, never broke the rules, never disrespected anyone. She was a straight-A student. And we lost her for what? A gang conflict that got out of hand. We lost her because something thought it would be alright to pull out a gun and shoot his enemy. So why is Hilary dead? Why must so many innocent lives be lost all over gang violence?!

She's gone and she isn't coming back. We'll never see her bright smile, hear her laugh, watch her live out life's potential. But we will never forget her. Her life may have been cut short, but her memory will live on. Thank you," Kai whispered and resumed his seat, tears falling thickly onto his lap.

A month later, Kai reflected on all that has happened.

'Well, Hilary, I hope you're proud of me, of all of us. I started an anti-violence group at school. Yes, me, the anti-social one, started a group. The others have joined as well. We can't bring you back, but we can help stop the violence. For you, Hilary. I've also made a more personal decision. I'm going to study law. I know I said I'd drop math and physics when the world ended, but a part of the world did end that day. I want to lock up those that dare pull out guns and use them on other human beings. So, this is goodbye, Hil. I'll never forget you, not for as long as I live.'

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RTC: I know most of you are probably crying or at least are upset at this point. At least, I hope you are. I know that sounds rather mean, but gang violence, school shootings and stuff ARE sad. Because many innocent people, like Hilary get hurt or killed. In just one moment, a life can be lost.

Ray: And if you're sitting there thinking that it'll never happen to you, think again.

RTC: You see these things on the news, and you say to yourself that that's in a another country or city, or whatever, but the next thing you know, it's happening too close to home. I had that mentality for so long, but a recent incident at another high school, practically just down the road, made me reconsider. It's very scary to know that these things happen, so if you know ANYTHING like this is going to happen, TELL THE POLICE, okay? Anyway, that's more or less the whole point of this fic-violence is bad because someone always gets hurt. Just some food for thought, really. That's all really, so bye for now, everyone!


End file.
